Gardaí in Offaly have recovered six valuable pieces of artwork during a planned operation this afternoon.

The oil paintings by Evie Hone had been stolen from the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Kiltullagh in Co Galway in June of 2013.

They are part of a set of 14 stations of the cross and are said to worth several thousand euro.

The paintings were recovered in wasteland near Edenderry and will now be sent for forensic examination.